Running on Empty
by Angelic Moonlight
Summary: Tai reflects on the relationship of two old friends... Mimato


Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

The 'Sincerest Friendship' Trilogy – part 1.

Running On Empty.

It's funny, isn't it? How one small thing can make you remember so much? For example, just seeing a pair of goggles makes me think of all the adventures we had in the Digital World, all the fights, tears and happiness that occurred that one summer. Anyway, I digress. The small thing I'm talking about isn't actually that small - I'm talking about a tree…a tree in the Digiworld (ok so the Digiworld has got something to do with this!). Sora and I were there not long ago, the DigiDestined invited us along as they were busy fighting some new evil. We found ourselves on the beach, chattering aimlessly about anything we could think of - the old times, work - anything apart from you guys. I guess we try to avoid mentioning your names, it's painful. The others are the same, we all just bottle it up inside. If anyone dares mention you I try to change the subject, Sora politely excuses herself, Joe coughs loudly, Izzy gets out his laptop, Kari says she's forgotten something and dashes off, Davis makes a totally off-subject comment, Yolei sighs, Cody mumbles something or other under his breath and TK…well TK just sits there looking sad. Poor kid. Anyway I'm off the subject again. When Sora and I finally ran out of things to talk about we went for a little walk further up the beach when we came to a tree…funny thing was we couldn't even remember it being there before! However, there it was, as real as anything. There was a Gekomon resting in the shade of the branches and as we approached it jumped up. We asked it why it was saluting and standing like a soldier. He sighed miserably when he heard Sora's voice. He explained that he was guarding the tree until Princess got back. I asked him who this Princess was.

"Are you stupid?" he exclaimed. "Princess Mimi, of course!" I told him what we knew. He looked confused. "But she said she'd come back! And she'd never break a promise because she's Sincerity!" I told him you weren't so sincere these days, he wouldn't believe me. I asked him why he was guarding a tree for you, expecting a blank expression. However, he just pointed to it. There, engraved in the bark, were the words 'Mimi and Matt - together forever.'

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Just seeing those words made a lump come to my throat. The engraving was quite old, so I asked the Gekomon how long he'd been guarding that tree - he had no idea. Feeling kinda blue, Sora and I left the amphibian-like Digimon to continue his pointless task. Ever since that moment my head's been swimming with thoughts and images of you both - Matt Ishida and Mimi Tachikawa, Friendship and Sincerity, Ice Prince and Sun Princess - whatever I call you it still feels the same. I miss you both - we all do. Anyway, when I returned back to the real world I told Sora I needed time alone, she understood entirely as she felt the same way. She went home, and I walked. I walked and walked not knowing where I was headed or when I was gonna stop. The first time I stopped was at Highton View Terrace - the place where our adventure really began - the place where we had witnessed the battle between Greymon and Parrotmon, the event which determined our fate. I watched some little kids playing under the bridge, screaming and laughing as they chased each other. I couldn't help but smile. I wondered if they would ever get the chance to experience the Digital World - perhaps they were the future DigiDestined? I guess I'll never know. I continued to wander along, now and then humming the song you used to play on your harmonica, Matt. I hopped onto a bus, deciding to head for the old camp from where we first journeyed to that place - the place we became a real team. Back then you were so different - Mimi the ditzy pink lover, Matt the mysterious, icy loner. Who'd have believed you'd turn out the way you did? I finally got to the camp - it's a real dump now - so derelict and kinda scary. I sat on a bench near the old boating lake and reminisced.

I started at the beginning and worked my way upto present day. I have no idea how long I was sat there but by the time I'd finished it was late. 'The beginning…where is the beginning?' was my first thought. I mean, we didn't even realise you guys were friends, let alone had a relationship, until it was too late! I've finally decided the beginning was when you left for New York, Mimi. That was an emotional time, especially for you. You were losing your friends and moving to a strange country that didn't speak the same language as you. I remember for a long time you tried to put a brave face on it, saying that your dad's new job was a lot better and that you'd be able to get noticed better out there. I can still envision the day at the airport - only now can I see the truth though - your father's rough tone and actions, your true sorrow at saying goodbye to Matt. Back then I just thought you left Matt 'til last cos you hadn't really got on well with him, and that you broke down when you hugged him because you were overwhelmed at how hard it was to say bye to everyone. I can still see your father's face as he grabbed you by the shoulder and muttered

"Come on, Mimi, it's time to go." his tone makes me shudder. I can still see your face as you turned back and waved to us, unsuccessfully attempting a smile. When you walked off, Matt, I thought it was just you being…well, normal. I failed to notice the tears in your eyes as your heart and soul left you.

The next few months were strange - don't you agree? Mimi, you were visiting as much as possible, seeing genuinely pleased to see us all, phoning, e-mailing…e-mailing, heh, that reminds me of one the things that made us realise how much you guys cared for each other. I don't know if Matt's told you the story or not but one day myself, Sora, Izzy, Davis, Yolei, TK and Kari were going to head to the Digiworld after school, so we naturally went to the computer room at school only to discover Matt there reading e-mail. When he saw us come in he quickly shut the message, but he accidentally left the inbox open so we could see a long list of e-mails from you.

"Hey, Matt, you get more e-mail from Mimi than I do!" Sora exclaimed, and Matt blushed. Little did we know that Jun - Davis's annoying sister - was stood close by. She pushed through us all and demanded to know who this 'Mimi girl' was…Matt flipped! He said it was none of her business, closed the inbox, then stormed out. None of us had ever seen Matt act so strangely over you! Argh I'm off-subject AGAIN! Now, where was I? Oh yeah, after you left for New York of course I noticed a change - no Mimi to cheer us up when we felt down, no suddenly exclamations of "Wow, that's sooo fashionable!" or "I saw the coolest pink dress in the mall today!", all of those little things that we had when you were around were gone. Matt - you seemed normal, but now I can see you wrapped yourself up in band practices and acted like nothing was wrong. Until that e-mail incident, that is. You seemed really angry for days, hardly speaking to anyone, hardly turning up for band practice…I wondered what the hell was going on, so I asked - do you remember? I still remember the scene almost word for word…It was in the locker room after gym, we were the last ones there cos you were taking ages over you hair (as usual).

"Hey man, what's up with you?" I asked. "You've been giving everyone the silent treatment since that incident with Jun!" you just carried on doing your hair.

"Just piss off, Tai, it's got nothing to do with you, so leave it." you muttered.

"Matt, I'm your best friend! Aren't we supposed to tell each other our problems!" I exclaimed. You turned and your blue eyes flashed wildly.

"Tai…like I said - piss off."

"No, I will not!" I yelled as you turned back to the mirror. "Tell me what's happening!" that's when you totally flipped. You turned, and punched me in the nose, I fell backwards and banged my head on the hard floor. I was knocked unconscious and ended up in hospital with concussion and a bloody nose. I told the others what had happened, and they went to see you, but you wouldn't see them (were you feeling guilty, I wonder?). TK was by this time getting really worried about you. He was the only one of us who had really noticed any difference in your ways. When he visited me in hospital he explained that you'd lost your appetite and he mentioned that your dad had been causing you trouble, moaning about how poor cooking and cleaning had been recently. You don't know this Matt, but TK heard you talking on the phone once when he came round - he said that he didn't know who you were talking to, but you sounded upset. He now realises that the person on the other end was Mimi.

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The next dramatic turn of events occurred the day I came out of hospital. Sora came around, frantic with worry. After I finally managed to calm her she told me that she'd had a phonecall from Mr and Mrs Tachikawa telling her you were missing, Mimi. They had asked her to keep an eye out, just in case she was on her way to Odaiba. Sora had said yes and had informed the others except for Matt, whom she couldn't get in touch with. I was comforting Sora when another frantic visitor arrived - TK. It turned out that you were missing as well, Matt! We suddenly came to the shocking realisation - you guys were an item! But why had you both ran away? TK answered that question by handing over an envelope. On the front was written "To TK and the other DigiDestined" in your handwriting. The time seemed to drag on as we waited for the others to arrive. They sat in silence as opened the envelope, there were two notes inside, one to TK and one to us all. I read out the latter-

'Dear friends,

When you read this I'll be on a plane somewhere, going to meet the one person I can't live without. You may have noticed my bad attitude recently and I'm sorry but I couldn't help it. Ok, I may as well start from the beginning, Mimi has asked me to explain everything in this note but I'll try to keep it as short as possible. Well, let me start with the bombshell (which probably won't be a bombshell now, cos you'll have probably worked it out.) - Mimi and I are dating…no that's wrong…Mimi and I are in love. There. We've been in love since…well since we went back to the Digital World the second time to defeat the Dark Masters. Nobody knows this, but remember the Lake of Truth? Well Cherrymon said that it reflected what ever was in my heart - and so it showed Tai - but that was only half of it. After the fight with Wargreymon myself and Metalgarurumon went back and I looked again, only this time the reflection was different. Do you recall Mimi being really upset about us fighting and announcing she was gonna look at the flowers until we stopped? Well, that really made me feel bad. The reflection the second time was of Mimi - my one true love. Of course I was too proud to admit it back then - I was 11 years old! But I knew that she was the one for me. Wanna hear a little confession? I knew when Mimi and Joe split up with the group, I was still there. I walked a little way then headed back, and that night, when Joe, Gomamon and Palmon were asleep I watched Mimi as she sang softly to herself, then began to cry. I walked up and comforted her. She said she was scared of the Dark Masters, and of losing any more friends. She said she didn't want to lose me again, I told her I was hers forever and we kissed. We walked for what seemed like hours until we reached the beach. It seemed strange to see a beach with no ocean. There was a tree in the middle and we carved a heart on it and the words 'Mimi and Matt - together forever.'. We watched the sun rise, then she sadly said she had to go back. Reluctantly we said goodbye and went our separate ways.

A few months after we returned home I was introduced to her mother and father and I felt like part of the family. They loved me and I thought they were great - much better than my own. Mimi's dad became like my own - we got on like a house on fire…and it was my real father that broke the bond. It all started two years after we defeated Myotismon, when dad came home raving excitedly about this show that was going on air soon - he was so proud of it. It was an undercover show that revealed crooked businesses and apparently they'd just finished the latest one - the best yet, as my dad said. I asked who the firm was, only to wish I hadn't when he named the company that Mimi's dad worked for, and moreover the show made out that he was crook. As soon as the program was shown the firm became bankrupt and Mimi's father lost his job and had the police harassing him. In the end it got resolved but no one would hire him after that incident. The reason you guys don't know about this was because they managed to keep the press out of it, otherwise it would've been all over the news. Anyway, Mr. Tachikawa was furious, so mad in fact that he banned Mimi and I from seeing each other, saying that anyone with the surname Ishida was 'scum' and 'not worth the time of day'. Of course we were both heart-broken by it all, and continued to see each other in secret. Until the day her mother caught us making out in the park. The next thing I knew I received a message from Meems saying that she was moving to New York, never to return. Ok, she was exaggerating about the last part but it was more or less what was gonna happen. I didn't know how to react to the message - should I have been angry? Sad? Happy that her dad had found a new job? I decided to go with my usual reaction - denial. I just blocked it, and on the day she departed I just told myself she was going on vacation and that she'd be back soon. However, when her dad wrenched her away from me at the airport and as she walked out of my life I realised that she was going forever, and that forever's a damn long time. I'm sorry I bottled it up now, it made the last few days we had together practically unbearable.

I remember the first time she visited like the back of my hand. She'd e-mailed me to ask me to meet her at the airport, and so I crept out in the middle of the night. It was an emotional reunion, to say the least. I held her and we both cried (yes, I cried in public). I didn't want to let her go again and I told her. She said she felt the same way but it was impossible. We spent a few hours walking in the park hand-in-hand, talking about what had been happening recently. Neither of us could believe it was almost three years since we'd declared our love to each other! It had flown by without us even realising it. We talked about you guys, and wondered if we should tell you the truth but decided against when we thought about how complicated it could get, it was better to keep it between us, where we knew it wouldn't get back to her parents. A few days later she was gone again - back to her parallel life in New York with her 'darling' parents. She told me just before she went how much she despised them, and how they still had a grudge against me and my family.

As time went on Mimi's visits, calls and letters became less frequent, and I felt we were losing touch. I wrapped myself up in my band and other stuff like going back to the Digital World, which was difficult, but it was great to see Gabumon. I remember we went to the beach one day and I showed him the tree - our tree as I called it. A Gekomon came wandering along, and asked why I was so upset about a tree. I told him it was special because Princess Mimi had blessed it with her love. The Gekomon ate it up and said he would stand guard until Mimi returned - I wonder how long he lasted before he got bored?

The gap between me and my love was expanding rapidly. Every day I checked my post hoping for a message from her, every day I sat by the phone at the hour she used to phone me, praying for her to call just to say she was ok - but all I got was nothing. The next time I heard of her was when TK told me that he and the other DigiDestined had seen her in Digitamamon's diner - with another guy. I felt my heart shatter - that's why she wasn't getting in touch! I felt like such a fool, believing that our love was strong enough to last. If I'd listened to the rest of TK's tale, I would've discovered that Michael had asked Yolei out on a date, but I flew off the handle and grabbed the phone, not caring what time it was. Luckily for me Mimi answered, and she tearfully explained everything. I made her cry, I'm not proud of it, but I did. She told me that her parents had tried to set her and Michael up, saying he was 'the perfect gentleman - much better than that Ishida scum'. However, she wouldn't agree to it, and when she and Michael went out on a date, she told him everything. He was very understanding and said he'd never stand in the path of true love. I relaxed and apologised to Mimi what must've been 50 times. She said she understood, and it was hard. I asked her to write more often and she complied, sending me long e-mails explaining how her parents had been checking her post, monitoring phone calls and even going into her e-mail! The only way she could contact me was via Michael's computer.

Everything settled down again for the next couple of years, her number of visits increased and we spent as much time together as possible. She explained to me that she'd had to pretend Michael was her boyfriend now and he had to accompany her on trips to Japan. He's a cool guy, and when myself and Mimi wanted time alone he'd go off and find some museum or something to amuse himself (how a museum can amuse anyone is beyond me!). Everything was as good as it could possibly get - until we came to the next obstacle in our rocky path - you guys are involved with this too. Remember the other day when some of you commented on my e-mail and Jun began to get jealous about Mimi? Well I'd just been reading a message - telling me that Mimi's and Michael's parents had bribed him into proposing and she'd had to say yes! I was shocked, she seemed very low. She phoned me that night, saying she was sorry. I told her not to worry - that I'd burst into the wedding and stop it, even if I had to swim there! She giggled at my determination, and told me she loved me more that anything in the world, and that she'd do anything just as long as we were together - even kill herself. I told her not to even think about it, and that's when it struck me - we'd run away! I told her to get in touch with Michael, and soon we were planning our escape.

Tai - I'm really sorry you ended up in hospital, I didn't mean to hit you so hard but I was majorly pissed at Mimi's parents. At this moment I'm sat at the kitchen table, a plane ticket to New York next to this letter. My bags are packed and my plane leaves in 3 hours. Mimi and Michael will be waiting for me, and as soon as I get there myself and Mimi will take a rest then jump on another plane to California, where Mimi has a friend who's offered to help. I'm sorry you all had to find out about it this way, we'll try our best to keep in touch but it'll be hard,since we'll have nearly the whole of America looking for us!

Keep hopeful, we'll be thinking about you always.

Best wishes,

-Matt.'

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By the time I got to the end of the letter most of us were crying, I had a lump the size of a boulder in my throat and was finding it hard to continue. I broke down in Sora's arms, numb. I couldn't believe you guys had been through so much without telling us! Your best friends! TK had finished his letter too and he was inconsolable - he said that he lost not only a brother, but a sister in Mimi. Nobody knew what was the best way to react, but then Joe asked a really wise question - should we tell your parents the truth? We could see their reactions, Mr and Mrs Tachikawa screaming at Matt's dad, and vice versa - not something we wanted to see. But they had a right to know! In the end we had no choice, we told them. We decided to fly to New York - all of us - to tell your parents in person, Mimi. Well, you know that now. They were distraught, and at one point I thought they were gonna kill TK! Of course they naturally blamed Matt, even when they read the letter they said it was all Matt's doing, that he'd bewitched their precious daughter and future son-in-law (they still called Michael that after everything!). They called the police and told them what was happening. Soon, just at you said in your letter, Matt, the whole of the country was searching for you both. Some American newspapers calledMimi 'an innocent girl, who was brainwashed by an obsessed boy' - can you believe it! That was Mr and Mrs Tachikawa's influence. But some papers called you 'a tragic couple torn apart by parental strife' and sympathised with you (that description made me think of Romeo and Juliet - I guess in a way you're similar…just don't get any ideas, ok?). Some of the accounts were incredibly exaggerated, saying that you, Matt, were 'a vicious youth, determined to get revenge on his ex-girlfriend's parents by kidnapping her.' that was probably the worst one. I can't imagine what was going on in your heads as you read these reports, if it were me I think I'd be really, really mad!

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Months flew by with no word from you, and TK was going crazy. At one point he flew to California without telling us! When he finally came back he was exhausted and depressed. Finally Michael got in touch with us, and let us know that you were doing fine despite all the trouble. He told us that you were travelling around performing at clubs and stuff, and he gave us a recent photo - you guys had changed so much! I guess you had to though, what with the entire country tracking you! Mimi, your hair was so short I almost fainted! But it suited you which was good. We told Michael to send you our love - did he ever manage to get it to you?

A year passed, and myself and Sora found ourselves back in America. Mr and Mrs Tachikawa invited us to stay over and house sit for them whilst they went looking - there'd been a sighting of you nearby. I couldn't believe that you'd ever go near New York again but you did. Myself and Sora were flicking through the music channels on Mimi's parent's TV when we found a show called 'Rising Stars' - it was live in New York and bands and singers were invited to come on stage and sing. The presenter was just talking when we switched on and he said something that caught our attention-

"Now, I'd like to present our next act! A great duo known as Sincerest Friendship!" the crowd cheered and I looked at Sora, who looked like she's seen a ghost. The camera's moved to the stage where you guys were - Matt sitting playing guitar, Mimi standing at the mike. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen - I didn't know whether to be happy, or scared for you. You started to play your guitar, Matt - you were brilliant, and Mimi, you began to sing. Your voice is still so clear in my mind, three years on. I don't think I've ever heard a crowd scream so loudly in my life. They loved you so much. Sora suddenly stood up and joined in the applause, tears rolling down her face.

"They're safe, they're safe…" she kept murmuring joyfully. Tear were filling my eyes as well as the presenter shouted

"Let's hear it for Sincerest Friendship!" you guys bowed, hand-in-hand, then kissed. It was so beautiful. But the moment was destroyed forever when someone yelled-

"Mimi!" it was your father. He ran onto the stage and began to shout a string of obscenities at Matt - on live television. "You bastard! You corrupted my beautiful daughter! Come on, Mimi, we're leaving!" but you shook your head as he grabbed your arm.

"No, daddy, I'm not going - I'm a married woman now!" she held out her hand to show him the wedding band on your finger. "I'm no longer little Mimi Tachikawa - I'm Mimi Ishida and I'm damn well proud of it!" there was an absolute silence. Then it happened. Your father - your own father - hit you. Not just a little slap on the cheek either. He screwed his hand up into a fist and punched you. Then to top it off he kicked you in the stomach so you fell over, and continued kicking once you were down. The crowd screamed in horror, and security guards piled onto the stage to hold Matt back and to drag your dad away. Sora fell to her knees and screamed hysterically.

"You. Are. Not. My. Daughter." your dad growled ferociously between clenched teeth, kicking you as he said each word. "You are a mere…slut! I have degraded myself by being associated with you!" he yelled as he was dragged off. You just lay there, your eyes wide open with shock and blood trickling from your nose. Your cheek bruising quickly. Matt held your hand and soothed you as the paramedics took you both away. Sora was silent, she was shaking all over and crying. She finally managed to whisper that she wanted to go home, I agreed and we caught the next plane back to Odaiba.

The next few hours were spent updating the others, even though it was pretty late in the night everyone wanted to know what was wrong. The next day the news was all over papers and TV - they showed edited clips of the show everywhere. Sora wouldn't talk - it'd hit her hard. TK was furious - I've never seen him so mad in my life! Michael got in touch with us again, and told us you were fine, thank God. You'd got a couple of broken ribs and a sore head, not to mention you had to be treated for shock. Your dad had been arrested for assault and they wanted you to testify. But you told them you didn't want to press charges. Michael gave us a picture of your wedding - each of us has a framed copy now. Mine stands proudly on top of the television.

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When we finally got over the shock of that incident, I heard that song again. It seemed the event had actually gone in favour of you - your first single hit number one in almost every country! You guys were a major hit! Of course your background had a lot to do with it, and because you didn't want to talk about it you never did interviews. One day, about 5 months after your first single went to number one here, TK got a letter from none other than his big brother! He was so happy, he phoned everyone before he opened it because he wanted to read it out! It just basically said that everything was ok and you were doing well and were happy. You'd settled down in California and told us about all your forthcoming plans - including a little tour. As soon as we heard that word we knew we had to get tickets somehow! The very same day Izzy booked us all plane tickets to California to see the show there, for which we had managed to get tickets for. The seats weren't bad, we were kinda in the middle - and we made a huge sign saying 'Have Hope and Courage! The Knowledge of Reliability is the Light at the end of the tunnel! Care for each other 'cos Friendship and Sincerity equals Love!' it was kinda cryptic, but we knew that if you saw it you'd know we were there! We knew you saw it, Mimi, cos you ran upto Matt at the end of the concert when we lifted it up. You turned to the crowd and smiled that famous Mimi-smile and said:

"Now here's a song for some special friends of ours, wherever they are." and when you started to sing again we knew it was for us, and I can tell you it filled me with hope for you both. You knew that as long as you were together you'd survive. Sora squeezed my hand happily as well all shouted. "Sincerest Friendship forever!"

Well, after that we went back home wondering if we'd ever hear from you again. When I got back to my apartment there was a small parcel waiting for me. I opened it - it was a copy of your album and a note. On the note it said 'Read the dedications - lots of love, Mimi and Matt.' The first thing I noticed was the name of the album - 'Courageous Love, Hopeful Light, Reliable Knowledge and Sincerest Friendship.' then I opened the case and got out the little songwords booklet, searching for the dedications. I scanned them, going through the many thanks for production teams and other people until I reached the bottom -

'Finally, we'd both like to thank some people who are very dear to us, the reason that the album is called what it is. You know who you are. You've supported us from day one, sometimes without even knowing it! Sorry that things turned out the way they did - we love you all dearly.' I phoned TK, he'd got a copy as well - so had the others. I put it into my CD player and just sat listening to song after song.

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That was a year ago. Since then you've had 8 more hit singles, and another platinum selling album, this time simply called 'Teamwork.' You're rich and popular and now do interviews and stuff, myself and the others all collect any clipping we find and put them into our special scrapbook. It's unbelievable - but you haven't set foot in Odaiba for four years, Matt! A bit longer for you, Mimi. I remember watching this show not long ago, and your mother wanted you to forgive her, but you said no and walked away. You sent us all a letter just recently, announcing the birth of your first child - Taichi Takeru Koushiro Joe Ishida. Poor kid! Nah we were all flattered! Davis sulked for ages about it though - asking why you hadn't used his name! We wish you'd get in touch properly though, like come and visit or something! TK really wants you to come to his and Kari's wedding, but I guess you're too busy. I'd seen your dad the day before, Matt. He was sat in the park looking depressed so I asked him what was wrong. I thought maybe he missed you, but he was moaning because his cleaner had quit and now he had no one to tidy up after him! The insensitive bastard! It was like he couldn't even remember who you were! Maybe he's like you though - just bottling it up. I sighed, and decided to head home, I'd thought enough of the past - it was time to live the present.

It's still hard to believe that out of all of us you guys would be the first to fall in love! I hope one day you can return to us and tell us your story properly, and I would really like to meet my name sake! Sora wishes you'd phone her sometime, Mimi, or just send an e-mail.

Mimi, Matt - wherever you are in the world - you're the greatest friends a guy could ever have wished to know, and after your troubled past, I only wish the happiest of futures for you.


End file.
